Some Unholy War
by Lavenderlash
Summary: Almost like the calm before the storm, a girl is sent up into the Glade, the only female in a sea full of males. To make matters even stranger, she refuses to talk; whether she doesn't on purpose, or because something is controlling her, making her refuse to make her talk. Something is coming, and it feels as if the Glade is preparing for some unholy war.
1. Welcome To The Glade

**001. Welcome To The Glade**

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><p><strong>A<strong> strangled cry echoed around the caged-in area before it was overlapped by the sound of gears cranking and turning, lifting the figure higher and higher. Her eyes opened as wide as they could, enveloping her in darkness, whatever she was in that was lifting her up moving too quickly for her brain and eyes to adjust. The higher the box - or whatever she was in - went, the more it seemed her head was draining, bits and pieces of memories and thoughts swirling around until they evaporated, too much going on and little time for her to latch onto them. Her slate was wiped clean, and she was alone, terrified, in what seemed to be a cage.

Her back rested against the chain-link hardness that surrounded her, her panicked breathing causing her heart to beat faster and faster. There was an urge to scream for help, but she found that her mouth wouldn't open; the thought of screaming had been thrown out as soon as she found that she didn't want to scream. Instead, she looked down - a bad move as she noticed how fast she was moving upwards - and let out a silent cry.

It didn't help when an alarm started going off, louder than the gears hoisting her up, bathing her in red lights. At once, she shut her eyes tightly, pressing her hands against her ears in a useless attempt to block out the noise. Too much was happening in such a short span of time that she felt as if her head were going to explode, her throat constricting at the idea of screaming or wailing or _anything_ for help; And then, it stopped.

Literally; it stopped abruptly, causing her to jerk forward with knees and forehead pressed to the rough fence surface. She winced when her forehead made contact with the floor, but continued to press her hands to her ears, her hair spraying out and covering her face. She peaked the tiniest bit, however, and noticed that the red lighting had been replaced with... sunlight - something she didn't remember ever seeing before.

"What's going on?" A muffled voice shouted from above her. Hesitantly, her hands lifted off and away from her ears, but she was too afraid to look up.

"Hey!" Someone yelled to her, and she curled up into herself even more, her knees sliding in so that her cheeks almost made contact with them. "Can you hear me?"

The sound of heavily-soled boots making contact with the floor wasn't as loud as she had expected, but she heard it all the same, and she picked her head up just in time for the person to press a hand on her shoulder, shaking it. They jumped the tiniest bit when they saw her looking up, and she furrowed her eyebrows at the person; It was a boy, with blonde hair and a strange accent. His eyes widened as he looked her over, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion.

"Newt! What the hell's goin' on?!"

"Shut up, you bloody shanks!" 'Newt' yelled over his shoulder, his hand retracting from her shoulder as he hadn't before realized it still rested there, "It's- it's a **_girl_**."

There was a reaction at once, voices overlapping each other, all talking about the same thing - a girl. Her heartbeat picked up, causing it to beat too fast for her own good, and her breathing labored as she pressed her hands to her ears again, attempting to block it out. Newt must have seen this, as she heard him yell once more.

"I said _SHUT IT!_ You're buggin' her out!" He looked back at her, his tone less threatening and quieter than before, "Hey, greenie, you're not gonna hurl, are you?"

Despite the strange slang he used that she didn't understand, she slowly shook her head, lifting her head once more to look at the boy. He gave her a skeptical look, clearly not believing her, and he held out his hand for her to take it; she did so, and he pulled her up to her feet with surprising strength before moving forward and - quite literally - sweeping her off her feet, hoisting her up and swinging her onto the ground, away and out of the box. She let out a silent squeak, wincing at how hard she had hit the ground before she turned her head to watch as the boy climbed out of the box.

"Sorry 'bout that, Greenie, but I thought you were gon' hurl anyway," he told her, "though those shanks who sent us here probably deserve some sick all over their precious little box."

"Slim it, Newt," A voice rumbled from beside him, and she saw that a tall boy with a muscular build had stepped towards her, his arms crossed over his chest as he shot her a quick glance, "Don't cost us our supplies. Do you remember your name, shank?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the word; what was a shank? But, once again, she was met with a second thought of not talking, only shaking her head yes or no. She even tried to open her mouth, trying to force words to come out, but they couldn't. So she sat there like an idiot, her mouth half-open with her eyes squinting in confusion.

"Alright, alright, don't overwork yourself." Newt told her, sending his friend a questioning glance, "Show her around, would you, before she clunks her pants."

The boy beside him shot him a glare, despite his tone being laced with playfulness. "I'm the leader of the Glade, not you. Come on, then, greenie. Your legs work, don't they?"

The girl bristled, wanting to glare at the person who was the 'leader' of… whatever this place was, but found that she also couldn't, like it wasn't part of her personality to glare at people and become aggravated. Letting out a shaky exhale, she slowly stood, aware of how she was in a sea of males without a female in sight, and they all stared at her - some in wonder, some in a way she didn't want to think about.

"My name is Alby, and, as you heard, I'm the leader of this Godforshuckin' place," 'Alby' told her, moving past the large group and over to her, beginning to walk away with her in tow. She stared at him before her wide eyes scanned around the area, causing her to swallow heavily in fear of the unknown, "Welcome to the Glade, Greeni**e."**

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><p><strong>So, I'm utter trash and decided to write a Maze Runner story as well. I've actually had this in mind for a very, very long time, so I'm not trying to jump on the bandwagon now that the movie is out and super popular. And, wow, two new stories in one day? I'm on a roll today. I hope you won't be too disappointed with this, as I'm super excited to write this and see what everyone thinks of it. <strong>

**I can't promise how soon the next update will come, if anyone reads and likes this at all, but it won't be too far away in the future. **

**Hope you enjoy!**


	2. You'll Learn

**002. You'll Learn**

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><p><strong>A<strong>lby paused, looking back at the girl as if waiting for her to say something - he had noticed that she had yet to say _anything_. It wasn't unusual, a few gladers had refused to speak at first but eventually spoke, but she didn't look like she would break any time soon.

She looked around the place in a mix of horror and awe. Everyone had gone back to what they were doing, but occasionally shot her questioning glances, and she wondered how everything worked. How long had they been there? How did they function? She tried to ask these verbally, but was met with a strong urge to not say anything at all.

As if knowing that she wasn't going to say anything, Alby continued. "We have three rules here: Number one, everyone does their part. Number two, never hurt another glader. Number three," his gaze landed on the giant walls surrounding them, "never go outside the glade. Got that?"

She swallowed, nodding her head before continuing walking with him, not that he had stopped walking at all. A maze? They were stuck inside of a maze? Her heartbeat began to speed up at the thought of being closed up like that. Had anyone ever found out how to get out? Probably not, that's why they were all still here.

He pointed over at a large hut - but not necessarily a hut, as it looked quite sturdy - and glanced at her, "That's the Homestead, where most of us gladers sleep - if there are enough beds. The rest sleep outside." Either he saw her questioning look and ignored it, or he missed it, as he retracted his hand and nodded over at a small building beside it, "That place next to it is the kitchen.

"Now, you've got your Builders, Bricknicks, Sloppers, Baggers, Cooks, Track-Hoes, Med-Jacks, Slicers, and, lastly, Runners, and you're out of your shuckin' mind if you want to be a runner."

The last thing she wanted to be was a runner, surprisingly. The only jobs that sounded appealing to her were Track-Hoes and Med-Jacks, but she supposed that she may or may not even have a choice in what she got - besides being a runner.

"You'll be doing your keeper training with the Track-Hoes-" she smiled faintly before she masked her expression-"under Zart's watch. But... tomorrow. I won't hold you accountable for today, greenie, but be expected to do as much work as the rest of us do."

She nodded importantly, tucking stray hair behind her ear as she took another sweeping look across the glade. This was her home now, not that she could remember her previous one. She had so many questions, but no ability to ask them. _Why couldn't she speak?_

"Got any questions?" She let out a silent laugh that sounded more like her blowing air through her nose harder than usual. She glanced over at him and saw that he, too, had the smallest grin before he straightened and resumed his previous demeanor. "If any of these guys give you trouble, don't hesitate to call for me. Whistle, scream, hell, even start dancing around and make them leave you alone yourself. I'm not saying these slintheads aren't trustworthy, but some of them are on a different level than the rest of us."

She nodded, her eyes squinting the slightest bit as she felt... intimidation. Not because she was a girl in a sea full of boys, but because she had no idea what to expect from anyone. Who was the new person before her? Were they someone she could trust?

"Come now, Alby," That familiar accent broke her out of her thoughts, causing her to turn around and look at the blond boy, "You've got stuff to do, I'll take the greenie off your hands. Has she spoken yet?"

"Not a word. What's it matter to you, shank?" Alby told him, surprisingly with a joking tone.

Newt held his hands up to surrender himself before he nodded at her, "Can't be borin' her to death with everything maze related, can we? She just got here, and she's the only girl we've got."

She narrowed her eyes at him, not needing to be reminded that she was, in fact, the only girl in the entire place. But she refused to let that scare her, even with the looks that she was receiving. Looking at Alby, she pointed at him, then herself, then at the boy in front of her as if saying 'can I trust him?'

Alby nodded, somehow understanding her, while Newt lifted an eyebrow. "He's my second-in-command. Trust me, greenie, Newt wouldn't hurt a fly."

"_Whoa_," Newt's mouth fell open as if he were offended that she would ask if he were trustworthy or not, "I'm not that kind of guy, even if there _were_ other girls around here. Not so sure about everyone else, though."

"Yeah, I told her." Alby's personality was drastically different from Newt's, that much she knew. He gestured towards his second-in-command, "Like he said, I've got stuff to do. Don't worry about too much, greenie." He then walked away, leaving her in the presence of Newt.

Said boy placed his hands back at his sides, giving her a smirk. "Like the place yet, greenie? 'Cause you're gonna be here for a bloody long time, trust me." She pouted her lips out in thought, to which he chuckled and shook his head, stepping closer to her. "Come along then, it's nearly time for lunch - and I don't know about you, but I'm starved."

He placed his arm around her shoulders and lead her to the kitchens, pointing towards four points inside the glade. "This place is split up into four sections; You've got the Gardens, the Homestead, the Bloodhouse, and the Deadheads. Alby set you up with a job yet?"

She nodded, pointing towards the gardens, giving him a faint half-smile. He smiled back at her, his eyebrows waggling at an attempt to get her to laugh, to speak, anything to know that she could talk; but all he got was a silent laugh. _Hell_, he thought, _can laughs even _be_ silent?_

"Y'know, Greenie, I'd call you Mute, since you haven't spoken a word since you got here, but... you've only been here 'bout less than an hour, and the quiet ones always end up talkin', and, plus, my name's Newt, and you can see how people would get confused."

Newt pushed her into the kitchens with a cheeky grin before resuming his position with his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her into his side despite his limp. She faltered as everyone looked up at her, ogling at her like she was some zoo animal.

"What's for lunch, Frypan?" He greeted a rather hairy boy who gave her a confused, scrutinizing gaze. She pursed her lips, glancing up at Newt, who released her as Frypan handed him two bowls of soup.

Newt nodded in satisfaction and handed a bowl to her, which she took gratefully and followed behind him, embarrassment creeping up on her and replacing her feeling of panic. She felt like a lost puppy following him around like she did - did all the 'greenies' feel as she did? Of course, she had only been there - as Newt had said - less than an hour.

More people began to trickle in as she hastily made her way over to the blond boy, who was sitting with two other people over in a corner. She sat beside him, giving the two boys a cautious look before she dug into her meal.

"Say there, greenie," a boy with dark brown hair began, "Do you-"

"Slim it, Jack." Newt shut him down immediately, swallowing his portion of soup, "She hasn't spoken a word yet. 'Less you got yes or no questions, she can't answer you."

"We could always give her pen and paper?" The boy beside Jack said, but Newt shook his head.

"Dunno, I need the paper for inventory, but I'll see what we have."

"You like it so here far, greenie?" Jack asked, leaning forward on his elbows. She gave him a wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights look as her cheeks puffed with soup that she had yet to swallow. The boys all laughed at her as she struggled to swallow it down, and she pushed her hair behind her ear anxiously, shrugging her shoulders.

"Already asked her," Newt grinned, "You'll learn to get used to it."

_You'll learn to get used to it. _That was not something they should have been used to. They should be with their families, if they had any, enjoying themselves at their rightful age, not having to grow up so quickly. She couldn't remember anything from before she had woken up in the box, nor could anyone else - and she didn't like that at all.**_ You'll learn to get used to it. _**

All she did was smile faintly in response, clasping her hands together as her eyes swept around the kitchens, taking in how she was surrounded in masculinity**_. _**_You'll learn to get used to it indeed_**_, _**she thought,_ and she would need all the help she could ge**t.**_

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><p><strong>So, A quick author's note before I go to bed: I just want to thank everyone who likes the story so far! Honestly, posting new stories freaks me out a lot because I don't know how people will respond to it, so now that I've gotten the second chapter up, I'm feeling like hopefully it won't be too bad. Hope this came soon enough, as I wanted to get at least one of my stories updated today.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Communication

**003. Communication**

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><p><strong>S<strong>he didn't listen to much after that, though she responded as much as she could - which wasn't much, considering she still did not feel like talking. So she finished her meal and left the kitchens without Newt, deciding to go and look around the Glade by herself. She walked across the glade, ignoring the stares from the boys that had already eaten or were on their way to eat. Was she really, truly the only girl in the entire place?

She didn't even have any idea where she was going, she was just walking to walk, distracting herself from not knowing anything about herself. Not even her name, which was the only thing she cared about right now - how long would it take, if she ever got one at all? She supposed she could come up with a fake one, but it wouldn't feel right, nor could her mind form up some kind of fake name. Somehow she knew that she would end up getting it back - she just didn't know when she would.

Something - or rather, a sound - popped into her head, one that felt familiar -but at the same time - alien. A song. No, she couldn't remember ever hearing a song before, not that she could remember much else, but the small tune stuck in the back of her mind like an itch she couldn't scratch; her feet moved along the tall grass, one foot in front of the other, one occasionally lifting up a little higher than necessary and then laying flat on the ground at a different angle, her hands cupping together before she realized what she was doing and placed them back at her sides. Perhaps she was a dancer in her past life, and she smiled at the thought, hoping that she was getting at least _one_ of her memories back.

"Hey there, Greenie."

She turned around, suppressing the urge to spin around on the tip of her toes, and stared at the boy behind her who simply smiled at her. Slowly, she raised her hand, waving at him before placing her hand back at her side. This caused him to chuckle, making her squirm uncomfortably. Why had she left Newt again?

"Still not talkin', huh?" It was more of a statement then a question, "I bet I can make you talk."

This caused her to laugh uncomfortably, and she shook her head the tiniest bit, not wanting to seem rude but also wanting to get away from him. She cautiously moved to walk around him, away from what seemed to be the forest and back towards the Homestead. He followed after her, leisurely moving his bangs out of his face.

"In case you haven't noticed, you're the only girl in this shuckin' place. How does that make you feel?"

Nervous. It made her nervous. She quickened her pace, wrapping her arms around her torso as he continued to blabber on. Was this what she was going to deal with possibly the rest of her life; Hormonal teenage boys who wouldn't stop staring at her and talking to her too close for her liking?

She passed the Homestead and looked around for any sign of the blond boy, or even Alby, anyone who would make the person go away, and - thankfully - she saw a familiar face over by the gardens, and she continued over there, attempting to ditch whomever this was. But, still, like a pest, he carried on until he touched her arm, attempting to halt her.

She spun around, her arms flinging away from her torso as she gave him a wild look, her eyes narrowing at him. She wanted to scream at him that she wasn't some alien creature, nor was she someone who needed nor wanted to be touched. He caught her look, releasing his grip on her and putting his hands up to surrender. "Hey, sorry, I was just-"

Her hands lifted up into his face and she began making gestures, her mind forming the words '_If you ever touch me again, I will hurt you_' as her fingers and hands did all the work for her. He stared at her, clearly confused but somewhat catching on to what she meant, and he slowly nodded, backing away from her before he turned around and disappeared into the kitchens.

Glancing down at her hands, she pursed her lips, realizing that she may just yet have a way of communicating with everyone before she was able to speak - if she ever spoke again. Then she realized that she was being stared at again, and she looked up to see that Newt was giving her a strange look, so she began to jog over to him, watching as he placed a basket beside him and wiped dirt off his hands and onto his pants.

"Came back to me, did you, Greenie?" Newt asked, placing a hand on his hip, "I saw that shank botherin' ya, I'll make sure Alby and I give him a good talk."

She stared at him for a few seconds before she lifted her hands back up, praying that he would be able to see what she was gesturing and that he would understand. "_Can you understand what I'm signing?_"

But he just stood there, raising an eyebrow at her hands. "Is that your only way of communicating?"

Giving him a look, she sighed before she nodded, tilting her head so that she could look at the giant grey walls that surrounded them, closed them in, and she noticed that people were beginning to trickle out of the four entrances.

"Well, shuck it. We better tell Alby then - well, **_I_ **better tell Alby then." Newt's eyes flickered to where she was looking and he nodded, "Those'll be the runners, the doors are closing soon. Come on, greenbean, before you forget your little hand trick there. I can't find that buggin' notepad anywhere."

He moved ahead of her so that she could follow him, and he lead her to a smaller hut a far ways away from everything else. Newt didn't knock on the door, only opened it and stuck his head inside to see if the leader was in there; when he saw that Alby was in there, he looked back at her, telling her to stay there while Newt got him. She nodded to him, quirking her mouth to the side and watching as he shut the door behind him, the way the door had been positioned making sure that she never saw what was in side.

At once, the sound of concrete against concrete echoed throughout the area, causing her to wince and cover her hands over her ears like she did in the box. The doors slammed together, shaking the earth around it and causing her legs to shake, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that the doors had closed and that Alby and Newt were coming out of the hut.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you, the doors can be a little loud." Newt sent her a crooked smile, and she uncovered her ears, puckering her lips out before she looked to Alby, who had his arms crossed over his chest and was giving her a look as if he did not trust her.

"What is it, greenie?" Alby asked in a neutral tone, though his face told her that he was irritated she had bothered him, "Have you spoken yet?"

She moved her hands up to start hand-talking like she had done with Newt and the bothersome boy, but instead was immersed with something else, her mouth falling open and her eyebrows knitting together in a mixture of shock and confusing. This caused the boys to be in sync and shift their feet nervously together, and Newt stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder like he had done earlier.

"What is it, greenbean?"

She clicked her fingers together, gesturing for a pen, a pencil, _anything_, but they only looked confused. Sighing in frustration, she looked to the ground and saw patches of dirt where grass had grown unevenly or not at all. She bent down, furiously digging her finger into the earth to spell out letters: S - T - E - V - I - E.

"Stevie?" Newt read aloud, looking to Alby with a curious look in his eyes, "Do you think...?"

"Is that your name, Greenie?" Alby asked her, his tone gentler than before, "Stevie?"

The girl nodded, standing back up and beginning to smile. How she had suddenly remembered it, she had no clue, it had just popped into her head as the doors grinded together. Alby and Newt tilted their heads toward each other and nodded, a small grin etching onto Newt's face as he lifted his hands up to his mouth, turning towards the Homestead.

"Hey everybody, her name's **STEVIE**!"

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><p><strong>So, here's chapter 3! She finally remembers her name (hint hint, it's the same as my Queen and idol) and I can begin writing more than just the simple stuff I've been writing so far... even though this is only the third chapter. I can't be too sure how consistent updates will be for this, but I promise I won't let it sit around in the dust for over a month.<strong>

**Happy reading! :)**

**P.S. If you're wondering what song came into her head while she was walking, it was Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac. It's my favorite song by them, and I picture it as Stevie's theme song.**


	4. Good That

**004. Good That**

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><p><strong>"R<strong>ise and shine, greenie."

Stevie grunted, flicking her hair back as she looked over at the person who had woken her, her eyes narrowing at the blonde who she had met before she went to bed: Gally.

"Ready to speak yet?" He asked, raising an eyebrow curiously at her. She shook her head, slowly sitting up and glancing around the room.

Alby had allowed her to sleep in the med-jacks room for today, seeing as he, Newt, and Stevie didn't trust the rest of the boys in the Glade, and it wasn't like much happened to anyone for them to get hurt, anyways. She had enjoyed being curled up in the cot, even if the makeshift bed was a little uncomfortable and nearly swallowed her.

Gally narrowed his eyes at her in distrust, "Well, you soon will be if you want a say in today's meeting that starts right about... five minutes from now."

Stevie sent him a puzzling look, running a hand through her hair to rid it of knots and tangles. "_Why are they holding a meeting?_" She signed, but, judging by Gally's look of confusion, he didn't understand. Sighing loudly, she swung her legs over the bed and pushed off, moving past him with an air of suspicion.

Gally looked as if he wanted to say something else, but it seemed more like a question that he knew she wouldn't or couldn't answer, so he shook his head and left her to her business. Stevie puckered her lips, following after him as she tiptoed through the doorway. No, she didn't exactly trust Gally, but, in her defense, Newt had told her to stay away from him at the bonfire last night. In fact, she had been told to stay away from almost everyone but the Keepers.

Gally looked over his shoulder at her as if he knew she was directly behind him, and he, for some reason, slowed down so that she could catch up. Despite her suspicion, she sent him a grateful smile before clasping her hands together in front of her, her eyes scanning around the glade and watches as the boys poured into the Homestead. A whole meeting just for her? What, did they not trust her?

_ Well, _she told herself, _you _are_ the only girl in this place._

Stevie unclasped her hands and ran a hand through her hair again, only this time nervously. What were they going to do? What had she done already to make them distrust her? Was she going to have to spend the night in the slammer for some reason she didn't know? She was thinking about it all too much and ended up giving herself a headache by the time she made it to the meeting room, where everybody seemed to turn around and look at her all at the same time.

She played with the hem of her shirt, avoiding eye contact with everyone as Gally pulled her along, maybe a little too roughly, and up to the front of the room. To them, she probably looked as weak and fragile as they came - and, hell, maybe that was the case, or maybe she was trying to learn everything she could about the place before she became more courageous. It wasn't hard for her to figure out that she would soon need to be her own bodyguard.

In the corner of her eye, she saw a figure shift slightly towards her, and she glanced up to see Newt and the asian boy she had met at the bonfire last night - Minho. Minho sent her a friendly smile that she returned before she went back to staring at her feet, her sharp nails on her right hand now digging into her left. They were going to banish her, weren't they? It had been nice knowing... three people during her hours in the Glade, she would miss them.

"Alright, you shanks, settle down." Alby's voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked up again, her heart hammering in her chest. Her eyes flickered over to Newt, who seemed to look everywhere but in her direction. "I think you all know why we're here."

_ Say your prayers, Stevie_, she thought, _Maybe if you're banished, you could somehow survive, it won't be all bad._

"It's clear that some of you slintheads don't know how to treat a lady, even if Stevie is the first one we've ever had here in the Glade. The girl can't even speak, and you're there runnin' your shuck mouths like she'll respond. So, the Keepers and I have decided to put in some new rules."

The boys stayed completely silent under Alby's watch, and Stevie's eyebrows rose up as she waited with baited breath, anxious to hear what the new rules would be. At least she wasn't being banished.

"First rule: No one, and I mean _no one_, harasses her or even attempts to speak to her unless you're a Keeper-" She glanced over at Newt, who peaked over at her before he turned his gaze back to Alby-"Second rule: You'll guard her with your life. I don't doubt that she's strong, Newt there looks like a 12-year-old but has the strength of an Ox. If you see her go into the shower room, you guard that door and don't leave until she's finished, do you understand?"

They all nodded, and while Stevie both appreciated and disliked the idea of not communicating with anyone but the Keepers, she liked that Alby was willing to protect her and keep her safe.

"Third and last rule: Never leave her by herself. Some of you have already proved to me that you can't and shouldn't be around her, so she'll need someone to escort her. Minho can't, since he's out there runnin' every day, and Winston will need to stay in the slicin' hut, and I'm not keepin' her cooped up in there all day, so, it's up to Newt, Gally, Zart, or Frypan."

There was an immediate uproar from the boys in front of her, them shouting out answers like they should pick the person instead of her. Stevie stepped back, grimacing, and Alby banged his fist against the table, getting their attention.

"Shut it! It's up for her to decide, not you shanks!" He yelled before looking over at the blonde, his eyebrows raising as he awaited his answer, "Who's it going to be, greenie?"

She had to think about whom she would choose despite the final answer being obvious; Newt was the only one who could interpret what she was saying - or, at least, _what_ she was trying to say - and he was the second-in-command, wasn't he? Yes, it was obvious that her choice was Newt, and she pointed over at the shaggy-haired boy before she glanced around the room, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

Alby nodded, "Then it's settled, Newt will be Stevie's escort."

The meeting was over soon after that, and Stevie ran out as soon as she could, skidding to a stop outside the doorway so that she could wait for Newt. Boys spilled out after her, now suddenly ignoring her and pretending like she wasn't there now that Alby had said not to bother her. She was surprisingly grateful for it, and as Newt came up beside her, she looked over at him, waiting for him to speak to her.

He looked down at her, one eyebrow cocked, and she noticed that he had his hands behind his back. "Good that, eh greenie?"

It was the first word Newt had spoken to her since last night, and it made her grin the tiniest bit before she followed after him. "It's your first day to work, y'know that, right?" He continued, "Just 'cause you're the only girl here doesn't mean you won't do your share, but I'm sure Alby told you that."

She jogged up to his side so that she wasn't trailing behind, signing, '_ready to start the day?_' as well as she could as she kept up with him. Newt smirked, slowing down a bit, as he was surprisingly faster than her, even with a limp, and it was then that she noticed what was in his hands. He brought his hands up in front of her and handed her what looked to be a clipboard full of paper, then placing a pencil on top of it.

Stevie looked up at him, her mouth hanging open in awe before her face slowly broke out into a true smile. Newt winked at her, gesturing his hand for her to write something, and she took the pencil, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she began to write. It came naturally to her, and she felt like writing was something she had done often in her past life - if she hadn't been a dancer, then she was surely a writer.

When she was finished, she brought the clipboard up and showed it to him, grinning as he read the words, _'thank you so much, Newtly_.'

Newt let out a laugh at the nickname, sending her a wink before they continued on to their destination. "It's no problem, we've got paper comin' out of our bloody ears, and you have yet to speak. Put two and two together, and you've got yourself a way to communicate without your buggin' hands fallin' off."

The two walked together until they came to a stop by the gardens, causing Stevie's heart to beat a little faster. What if she screwed up gardening? It wasn't that hard, surely, but she could still rip out something or... or... screw up. But Newt continued on towards Zart, grabbing an empty basket from him, and she hurried toward him again, not sure where to start.

"Come on, greenie, it's not that hard." Newt told her, a grin on his face, "Here, I'll show you."


End file.
